"I've really benefitted from being in the environment and from being around good players and good coaches. I wake up in the morning and look forward to coming to training.

"I think being surrounded by the calibre of guys that we've got here is only going to bring your game up. I'm really grateful to be part of this team.

"There is a lot of laughter around the place every day, we try and have a good time. Then when it gets time to get down to serious business we all tune in and get on with the work. That's a nice balance to have."

Director of rugby Mark McCall said: "We're delighted that Alex has agreed a new deal. Alex will have an important role to play for us as he continues to develop as a player, so naturally we're very happy to announce that he'll be staying at Allianz Park until at least 2020.

"In his brief time at the club, Alex has already shown how good a player he is, but the most exciting thing for us is how much improvement we believe there is to come from him alongside our core of young, hungry, homegrown players.

"We're very excited that he'll be continuing his exciting career with Saracens."